Never Let Go
by wubbzy
Summary: "A regretful past shouldn't be perceived as so regretful." Naruto asks Sakura a question. NaruSaku.


_A/N:_ This was going to be a rewrite of Chasing After You, but I ended up thinking up a new premise since I didn't like the old one. Here it is, hope you like it! Some things are similar, but the ending has varied. Oh, most of the tense switches are intentional, because it wouldn't make sense otherwise.

_Disclaimer:_ If I owned Naruto, Naruto wouldn't be Naruto. Be thankful I don't. ;)

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___A NaruSaku One-shot_  
**Author: **___wubbzy_  
_Count: _2068

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**Never Let Go**  
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_Hands clasp so tight_

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A swift breeze brushes through her locks as she self-consciously tucks a strand behind her ear. She can hear the bristling of the tree branches and the chirping of the crickets. Crickets are not something that annoy her. In a way it sooths her as she closes her eyes. She can still feel the warmth of the fire sharing its heat with her backside. She relaxes, her aching muscles now loosening up as she prepares for bed after a long day of lifting, punching, and healing. When she hears shuffling of feet, she immediately tenses up. She feels eyes watching her back, burning a hole through her being. She groans, covering the blanket over her even more.

"Sakura-chan?" he asks, his voice seeming as if it is straining to even say her name. She does not say anything. "You up?" She sighs, turning to face him.

"Now I am," she says in annoyance as she rolls her eyes even when she is lying. She waits for him to say something. He scratches his head, feeling really awkward for wanting to insinuate such a conversation he's been thinking in his mind. He only hopes it does not turn out the way he imagines. "Well?" She urges him to continue, wanting to get this over with to take her nap. He sighs, ridding himself of any discomforting feelings. He's been bringing himself up to ask her the question that has been on his mind for ages.

"Why do you like him?" It takes her by surprise. Sakura just stares at the blond who seems determined, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. She scrambles for words; a simple question, with no definite answer. At least that is how Sakura feels. In reality, the answer is there, it is just hard for her to conjure up and find it in her mind that holds her forgotten past.

"What?" she asks for clarification. She notices how calm he is after he asks it. He has already predicted that it is a very gauche and tactless question for her, yet pretends not to notice – an incredibly_ cruel_ action in her eyes. She notes the way his eyes wander to the ground, staring at the dirt and the trail of ants making their way to their home.

"Why do you like Sasuke? What made you first start liking him?" he elaborates. He's been wondering this for some time now, but there never seems like an appropriate time to ask. Maybe right now isn't the most grand time either, but the quiescence of the night that befalls on them had his mind roaring out with such thoughts. He has been constantly berating himself through his shift as he watched the flames slowly build up until his mind brought him to calling her name. He figures it is an easy question for her to answer, Naruto understanding the initial notion is that she's in love with him. Sakura does not see it this way. She stays silent, trying to think of the right words that seem so lost.

"It was so long ago. I-I don't remember," she says, her eyes glancing towards the sky. The memories of her childhood rise to the forefront of her mind. An image of a younger Ino holding out her hand ran through her head as well. A new image appears with Ino and Sakura facing each other with anger and hate instilled in their eyes. Sakura feels rather melancholy. A poignant expression illuminates the campfire that Naruto notices immediately, but does not mention it.

"I still remember why I like, liked you when we were little Sakura-chan." He laughs, trying to lighten the solemn mood. He remembers to correct himself from his mishap as to not make her angry. She grins.

"Why is that?" she asks, a curious spark running through her veins. She wonders why he liked her – why he liked the girl who mentally tortured the boy by calling him names or punching him whenever he did something idiotic. How could he like her when she nagged him, reprimanding him on pointless things?

"That's easy," he chuckles at the memory. "When I first saw you, I thought you were so cute. You were a total babe to me." Sakura flushes and raises her fist.

"How idiotic of me to think you – idiot!" She likes to think one of the only people who liked her when she was younger will have a more meaningful reason. She tries to land a punch on his face when he quickly catches her fist in his palm. Her eyes widen when he pouts, realizing how it is rather childish, yet kind of cute.

"That would have hurt Sakura-chan," He chuckles with a big, toothy grin. "I just thought you were cute, but that doesn't mean I started liking you for it. I mean, I did, but I didn't really…" He isn't sure how to continue on with his words, his execution being atrocious. "Well, I didn't really like you then, I just thought you were cute."

"What's your point?" She is frustrated now. She realizes that Naruto is holding her hand now, yet she doesn't have the heart to pull away. His grip tightens.

"You never let me finish." He gives a whine while he keeps his puerile pout, and he continues to hold her bare hand, this time massaging it. He takes a moment to look down at her hands. "They're rough," he observes, and she can't help but blush in embarrassment, half-heartedly trying to pull her hand away. His grip never wavers.

"Shut up," she says, finally able to pry him away. Naruto gives off another whine.

"But they're cute," he tells her, grabbing hold of both her hands once again. "Did they get scratched up from today?" he wonders. She nods, grimacing at the fact she forgot to put on her gloves. It's only then when she notices.

"Your hands, they're soft." She's shock, but he can't help but grin, a tighter grip on her hands.

"Thanks, but it's because I spilt all your lotion." He let's go of one of her hands only to sheepishly scratch his head. She calls him an idiot, but still lets him hold her hand.

"I always thought you were cute, but that was only part of it. I didn't know anything about you and I was just a kid who thought you were a girl with pretty pink hair in my class." He smiles at the thought. "I really started to like you when we first became team seven." His mind takes him to that time, the old halcyon times. "I never understood why I really liked you before. I just mistook it for just being naturally attracted to you. There was always something else though, something more. I could never put my finger on it, but I knew it was different." He pauses, looking down to her hands, wanting to intertwine them. "It was when I henged into Sasuke that I realized why I truly, deeply liked you." Sakura gasps, wondering why he tells her this, shock running up and down her spine.

"I-I still remember what you said about me. About how I was always in the way of you and Sasuke. How I was annoying. You know, now that I think about it, I really was," he laughs. "I was pretty annoying always trying to talk to you, wasn't I?" She isn't sure what she should do: punch him or apologize.

"_You weren't supposed to hear that," _she thinks, feeling remorse in her words, her old self. She was young, and all she really cared about were boys, the only one being Sasuke. She was just a girl back then who didn't know what she was saying. He stares at the silent girl and sees she isn't going to answer. She isn't suppose to anyway.

"How could you like Sasuke when he treated you so terribly? He said really mean things to you and he completely ignored you," he rationalizes. Tears form in her eyes. He finds the strength to link fingers. She pries away in anger to rub her eyes.

"How could you like me when you heard what I said about you… what I always used to say about you? I said the meanest things to you and ignored you the entire time. After everything, you still..." She's unable to deal with the pain in her heart. She clutches her chest in agony. She can't even finish her sentence.

"To be completely honest, what you said back then… that's when I finally understood why I liked you." Naruto smiles, and she thinks he's gone crazy. She stares at him incredulously. Naruto grins in amusement. "We were the same Sakura-chan. We both wanted acknowledgement at the time, and better, even though you did say mean things to me, you did acknowledge my existence. Even when you nagged me, it showed that you cared. I felt I wasn't really alone anymore." He wipes her tears away when he sees she's frozen stiff. She's completely astounded with roseate cheeks. She isn't sure what to say or do. She prompts herself to laugh a bit, and it's so strained, he wishes he could somehow stop her.

"I don't think I understand you at all. You're making no sense. How? How could you think that?"

"I told you already Sakura-chan. It was a big deal to me back then. It still is now."

"But I don't want to focus on the back then." No, she rather not. Thinking of the past always makes her think of her regrets with remorse – so many things she wish she did, so many things she wish she said. She doesn't want to feel that way, not when she is completely different now.

She's an independent woman who can handle herself and isn't afraid of anything. She doesn't want to think back to past days where she cried for help and hurt her best friend. He knows she always regrets it, and he never wants her to feel that way. She should not be depressed at all. Looking back, he can see how much she's grown, not her mistakes.

"Sakura-chan, please don't feel that way," he begs.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"Everything I told you, it's because I wanted us to see how much far we've come. We both made mistakes in the past, but it's what got us here, right here at this very spot." He pauses, not entirely sure how to phrase what he's about to say. He wants to ask her his initial question because he wants to see where her feelings are now. He still remembers how she only wanted Sasuke: his love, his opinion, his everything. Now, he realizes how he should have put much more thought on what to say next.

She looks away, but he moves one hand to her cheek so they can lock eyes. "I'm different now too, Sakura-chan. I used to like you so much. I used to think you were the cute babe, and then they changed into me liking you for a completely different reason."

"You shouldn't have made that deduction. I always-"

"But I did Sakura-chan, and I'm glad I did now." Sometimes he wonders if it was a mistake to think Sakura would ever see how much he cares. And he realizes that even if she didn't notice how much he cares, even if she still wanted acknowledgment from someone else, it doesn't matter. His initial thought process changed from, _"She's the girl I would be happy with if she were mine,"_ to _"she's the girl, no matter what happens, I want to be happy."_ "You know, you also said I don't understand you."

"I think you understand me more than anyone now," and she closes her eyes as she leans into his fingers, letting him caress her cheeks, all the way to her pink locks.

"I guess that proves it then, right?" He laughs. "Things changed for the better."

It's only then when he realizes that things_ truly_ changed. It's only when, without even thinking, he holds her hand. It's now when he remembers a time where he wouldn't dare touch her, where she'd never even give him a second glance. Now she's here, next to him, letting him hold her hand.

Her grip tightens – her fingers finally able to interlock with his.

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_A/N:_ Like I said, it varied from the original and the premise is different, but there are quite a few scenes that are similar. But man, now it's CHEESY! :( I should write some angst now, just to prove that I can (since evidently, all I write is fluff).Reviews on your thoughts are most appreciated. :)


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